Terms and Conditions

Please take a few minutes to read our terms and conditions. They are plainly written with nothing hidden away, but they are important and our guarantee depends on them.

The Pedal Project guarantee is to get everyone who joins our course pedalling safely without stabilisers

By this we mean that your child will be able to start pedalling without any physical assistance and they will be able to pedal in control for at least two laps of the training venue, stopping safely using the brakes.

Your child must attend all 3 sessions of the course

The Pedal Project guarantee is based on the children attending and participating in all 3 scheduled sessions in full.

If your child isn’t able to attend all 3 scheduled sessions or they miss more than 15 minutes in total through lateness, and they cannot cycle by the end of the 3rd scheduled session, we will not offer extra sessions for free, as we would have done if they had attended all 3 sessions in full.

In that situation, we are happy for them to join another 3 date course but this will be charged in full.

It may take more than 3 sessions

At Pedal Project courses, most of the children manage to crack cycling in the 3 scheduled sessions.

If your child hasn’t quite got there after 3 sessions, we will offer extra sessions for no extra charge until they can cycle.

In this situation we will email you a link directing you to the Pedal Project website where you can choose which upcoming 3 date course suits you best and book it for no extra charge.

The vast majority of children will get there after 6 sessions but if more sessions are still needed that is fine, and they are offered for free. As many as the child needs to be cycling on their own.

Practice afterwards is essential

Once your child has learnt to cycle it is essential that they are able to practise in the days and weeks immediately following the course.

For this you will need a suitable bike for them to ride. Most children’s bikes are poorly designed, very heavy and difficult to ride. Also, shops almost always sell bikes that are too big for the child to be able to ride safely. We offer expert advice on bikes and sizing after the first session of the course that your child attends. We also have a page with our advice on what to look for when buying children's bikes… https://pedalproject.co.uk/bikes

The Pedal Project guarantee does not apply if the child has successfully learnt with us but has not been able to practise afterwards and has subsequently lost the ability to cycle.

In that situation, we are happy for them to join another course but this will be charged in full.

Parents and carers do not stay for the sessions

At the beginning of the first session of the course there is a 5 minute introduction where the aims of the course are described and we discuss how to work as a team. As part of this introduction we talk about the correct way to wear a cycling helmet. Parents and carers are welcome to stay for this introduction.

Once all the children have their helmets on correctly and they are ready for the bikes, the instructor will ask the parents and carers to leave and to come back 5 minutes before the end of the hour session.

Without the parents and carers there the children are less distracted and they encourage and learn from each other more readily.

We will not make any exceptions on this rule of the parents and carers not staying.

5 minutes before the end of the session we invite all the parents and carers back in when each child will do a lap to show the progress they have made. We encourage hearty applause!

The course is for children aged 4 years or older

Please do not book your child on to a course that starts before their 4th birthday. If a child is not 4 or older by the start of the course our guarantee will not be offered, even if their 4th birthday is only a few days after the first session of the course.

In that case we will do our best to get them pedalling on their own in the three sessions of the course but if they aren't able to start pedalling on their own by the end of the third session, we will not offer extra sessions for no charge as we would had they been 4 or older. In that case you may book them on to another course but that would be charged in full.

We may ask for proof of age to be brought to the 3rd session of the course if there is some doubt as to whether the child is 4 years old.

We teach in small groups and cannot provide 1 to 1 support for a child

Our courses are taught in small groups of no more than 8 children. A lot of the teaching is done as a group and we encourage the children to learn by observing each other as well as the instructors. At various points during the sessions our instructors may spend time individually with one or more children if needed, but we cannot offer 1 to 1 support to a child throughout the sessions.

Please do not book your child on to the course if they need 1 to 1 support in teaching environments. If you are unsure, please contact us on info@pedalproject.co.uk. As well as the mainstream courses shown on our website, we also run courses alongside the charity Skylarks and these courses are exclusively for children with additional needs. At these courses there is more provision for 1 to 1 support, so do contact us if you think this would be a more suitable option. Please be aware though that this is in SW London and the courses are after school in term time, so depending on your location that may not be viable. We are looking at providing course for children with additional needs in other areas of London but we aren't there yet.

If a child is booked on to one of our mainstream courses and they need 1 to 1 support during the first session of the course, we reserve the right to end the course at that point and there would be no refund. However we would try to arrange an alternative plan to help support the child in learning to cycle. This may be a Skylarks course if available, or detailed guidance for how to continue with the learning process yourselves.

We have a lot of experience of teaching children with additional needs at the mainstream courses and with great success. It is just that we cannot offer 1 to 1 training within the mainstream courses.

All the children must wear a helmet when on the bikes

We provide helmets at the course, so you don't need to bring one for your child. Our helmets are lightweight and very comfortable to wear and we have different sizes to ensure a good fit.

If your child would prefer to wear their own helmet, please do bring it along. It is fine for them to wear their own helmet, so long as it fits them well and stays in place when on their head.

If a child refuses to wear a helmet, our instructors will not allow them to be on a bike and therefore they won't be able to take part in the course. This is even if the child's parent or carer present is happy for them to not wear a helmet. Part of the reason for this is the safety of the child, but also that it would send the wrong message to the other children in the group.

Our courses have a mixture of ages of children attending

Our courses are for all children aged 4 and up. It is true that we have more children attending who are in the 4-6 year old age range, but we have lots of older children attending too. In the booking system the age range goes up to 12, but we regularly have children attend who are older than that.

If you are booking on a child who is a bit older (say in the 10-16 year old age range) and you are worried that they will be uncomfortable if the rest of the class is much younger, please do email us at info@pedalproject.co.uk with your choice of course dates and we can let you know if there is a time slot with an older child already booked on, in case that helps.

We find that the mixture of ages at our courses is actually an asset to the learning process and it invariably works really well.

Your child must be willing to participate

Please consider all the points above before booking your child on to the course. If your child refuses to take part in the course, whether it is because of not being ready to be left at an activity by their parent or carer on the day, because the children in their session are older or younger than they are, or because of having to wear a helmet, for example, we will not offer any refunds or a replacement bookings.

We would encourage you to talk to your child about the course in the days or weeks before it starts, to familiarise with the setup and make them as ready as possible beforehand.

Cancellations, changes and refunds

If you wish to change your booking you may do so by logging into your account on our website, where you will be able to edit any upcoming booking. If you need to cancel, please email info@pedalproject.co.uk.

There is no charge for changing a booking to another course provided the change is made well enough in advance of the start of the course that is already booked. Likewise we will give a full refund if the booking is cancelled well enough in advance of the start of the booked course.

However there are charges for postponing or cancelling late.

If a booking is postponed less than 10 days before the booked course is due to start, there will be a charge of 50% of the original booking fee to make this change.

If a booking is cancelled less than 10 days before the booked course is due to start, we will give a refund of 50% of the original booking fee.

If a booking is cancelled less than 1 day before the booked course is due to start or if a booked course is missed with no prior warning to us, there will be no refund and no replacement course will be offered.

Pedal Project reserves the right to cancel any upcoming course for any reason and at any time. In this unlikely event we will do our best to rearrange all affected bookings to another course. If we are not able to rearrange your booking in this situation, we will refund you in full for the cancelled course.

Privacy Notice

All information provided will be used solely for the purpose of administering the course and will be managed in accordance with the below. We process the information that we hold in accordance with GDPR, which means that:

a. We collect information as is necessary for our operational purposes, but which is not excessive or irrelevant

b. We seek to keep information we hold about you accurate and up to date

c. We will keep your data secure and will retain your information for the time periods defined by law and best practice

d. We will not share your information with other parties, for any reason.

e. We may write to you from time to time to advise you of Pedal Project news. You will have been offered the opportunity to opt out of this at the point of signing up for your account through the website.

f. You can write to us at any time (info@pedalproject.co.uk) to have your details removed.

You made it to the end!

Thank you for reading our Ts and Cs! Hardly laugh-out-loud funny but they are important and we really appreciate you taking the time to read them. The rest of the Pedal Project experience will be far more fun and exciting, we promise!